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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Retro Hair With a Flat Iron?

Would you believe that this gorgeous retro hairstyle was done solely with a flat iron? I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't heard it from the stylist who created this look. After seeing this picture, I had to find out who did the hair (it was Christine at the midtown Vidal Sassoon, if you're interested). I booked an appointment with Christine and adored her; in fact, she's the one who suggested my new Bettie Page bangs. She also gave me a lesson on creating waves with a flat iron and it was a revelation.

I've always associated flat irons with very modern ideas about what hair should look like: poker-straight and flat. But, as Christine told me, just by changing the angle you hold the iron at, you can make curls and waves. She did it with complete ease; it was like magic. My attempts to recreate it on my own haven't been quite as effortless, but I'm slowly catching on. (I've watched a couple YouTube tutorials since; take a look at this one and this one for curling techniques.) The key to getting the curled-under retro effect is to do all the curls in the same direction, so that they're framing your face rather than flipping away from it.

My mind was blown a second time when I had lunch with the lovely Mena, who told me that some people do pin curls with a flat iron, by clamping the iron down on the curl. Have you ever heard of such a crazy thing?

As you can tell, this whole idea of flat iron styling is a new world to me. Am I completely out of it? Had you heard of these methods of getting retro hair? Please share any tips, ladies!

Super cute, I like the softness of waves more than the stiffness in pin curls or super straight hair. I'm a pixie cut girl so alas I've never used a flat iron and I can't help you there.But my great aunt did tell me stories about fixing her pin curls like that in the 70s. Really about all the weird things she'd do to set her pin curls.

that is so funny i just watched one of those youtube flat iron tutorials the other day. although i thought it looked a little too crimpy and less like a proper vintage wave... i love the idea of ironing the pin curls i want to try it!

I'm a total GHD devotee but so far have failed to achieve curls. I HAVE tried in the past but too scared of burns!! May give it another go now though. I don't find it as straightforward as it's been suggested it is though.Px

I started using a flat iron for soft curls after my large-barrel curling iron died. I was too cheap to replace it, and was delighted that the flat iron worked really well! (previously I'd only used it for putting my bangs in their place) But my hair is a messy sort of wavy/curly already so it holds heat-set curl extremely well.... this technique doesn't work at all for my sister's hair, so I guess it just depends.

My hair stylist showed me how to do something like this with a flat iron, but I haven't tried it myself. She suggested practicing on my sister because it takes some practice to get the angle right and seeing what you're doing helps. She didn't wrap my hair around the flat iron, though. She just held my hair at an angle like you would if you were curling ribbon with scissors.

I have curly hair that I wear curly....The last time I used styling gadgets on my head, they had just come out with diffusers and crimpers! :) Seriously, I haven't even owned a simple hairdrayer in something like 15 years

Sometimes I wish my hair was more tamable so that I could play with all the nifty things and do different styles...and then I remember that part of the reason I wear my hair curly is so that I don't have to spend time on it!

I love using the flat iron to curl! I also style hair by day, so I am familiar with this technique, although I will say that it does take practice. Now I prefer the flat iron over the curling iron. Depending on your hair, sometimes a curling iron will keep your curls longer, but pin curling them afterward is a great idea. The flat iron is also great because you can get all kinds of different angles so easily (i.e. vertical and horizontal for waves or ringlets). Glad to hear that you're trying it out!

My look is not retro but I've tried a couple different wavy styles with a flat iron, including general curling and pressing pin curls. So far the results have been ok but inconsistent. I think this might be more due to user error than anything else! It's certainly a fun change up though.

i love curling my hair with a flat iron - it is a very different kind of curl than what you would achieve from a curling iron (and for me, it tends to hold better too... probably because my flat iron gets a lot hotter than my previous cheapie curling irons). much more beachy/wavy than perfect curls. i've never heard of using a flat iron for pincurls, though! i wonder how you do it - just make the pin curl & clamp it with the iron instead of pinning it down? i'll have to try that!!

I have tried this but I find it doesn't hold very well.maybe a couple of hours max when my hairdresser does it.I generally pin curl mine. I put mousse on the section of hair first though. I've gotten so used to it I don't need a mirror anymore which is handy for keeping hair neat when camping.

I always us my GHDs for quick retro styles :) the 'marilyn look' in my profile pic was done with ghd flat irons, been doing it for years. I use them to create a barrell curl then pin it in place, then i take all the pins out just before i go out. :)

I went for a blow out and the stylist gave me the most spectacular curls with a flat iron. She told me learned from youtube!!! Indeed I checked it out and I am trying to perfect the technique, but it really helps to have had them done professionally so that I know what it's supposed to look like. I find that hot rollers are way easier because they're faster.

Retroella, a vintage hairstylist here in Stockholm learned me also one more technique, for vintage waves with a flat iron.By "feeding"in a wave between the clams, press, a wave! also u can use the flatiron to do pin curls to! True! Dry hair ofcourse, roll up hair as you would for a pin curl, press that pin curl all around with the flat iron, 2-3 times from different angles. This is realy hard to explain but so refreshing to use modern techs to retro hair. I guess that the downside is that the curls wont last as long as they would with a proper pin curl set, but it's fast,simple and a great way to refresh old curls...

Hi Gertie - my blog picture is of me with curly hair all done with a flat iron (or straighteners as us Brits like to call them) - trust me, my hair is naturally poker straight so I didn't own a pair until I saw what they could do! Can't wait to see how you get on.

I do my pin curls with a flat iron! I'm too cheap to buy hot rollers and I have way too much hair to be dealing with a curling iron on my whole head. Roll around a couple fingers, pin so the roll is standing away from your head, clamp with flat iron, move on. Once they're all cool, hairspray the crap out of it and style!

I had heard of it as one of my work colleagues does it all the time. I found out about it all when my very curly hair was frizzy and she helped me use her iron to tame the curls. She said she does it all the time. I know, it is an absolute revelation.

I've heard of this...a little. Two experiences.1. The first time was my friend who was going through this weird phase in college where she took sections of her hair and twisted them them ran the flat iron down to kind of set the twist. It was werid. Hahabut2.was on http://pearandpeacock.blogspot.com/search/label/hair where she does beachy waves. I tried it and it worked a little..but not that great. I think I'll try again though.

I've been doing curls with my GHD straighteners for years, it's great as it means I don't need to have two hair styling devices. twisting your hair around the barrel as well as pulling it through the plates at an angle helps with the curls too.

Trudy Callan (higher up the list) has the best advice when she says that her teenage daughter does amazing things. As does mine. So I think that many young women under 20 are worth asking for help and advice. This is the great transition you make around 45 - you suddenly realise that these young people really know things!

This is a revelation to me. I made my steady late leaving the house this morning just because I had to try it out -- and it worked! At least a little bit. Excited to try again -- thanks so much for the tip!

Thank you Gertie for the follow up comment re: conservative=antisemitic. I am of Jewish heritage and I am a conservative. I am proud of both and work daily to keep a balance in my life. I attempt to maintain a forgiving and tolerant view of those who by choice or education confuse politics with religion.

I have also watched the YouTube tutorials and learned how to curl my hair with a flat iron. For me it is way easier to use the flat iron than a curling iron. If it is not working for you, your probably not wrapping the hair around the iron enough, and a thin 1 inch iron should be used not the larger ones. I also find that a flat iron keeps my curls in longer since I straighten my hair and its hard to keep a curl.